Why do drums cost less than guitars? I see super-expensive guitars for hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes even millions! And then even a SUPER nice drum set is only, maybe, $20,000 if not less!

Is there a reason for this? It seems drum sets would cost more, because of all the metal, wood, etc.

They are harder to make . Use several different woods. Some have electronics. Many variables.

But, I mean, an entire, say, seven piece, completely custom drum set made of several different kind of exotic woods, WITH a full pack of cymbals, doesn't even come close to the cost of some little old guitars! And that's before you count hardware...

the craftsmanship and set ups that can be done on some guitars can really bring up the price
and plus I've seen and played guitars with more technology on them then this computer I'm on right now
I admit some of those really really expensive guitars are QUITE overpriced and not worth it
but I guess people are willing to spend it
and believe me I've seen some very very very expensive drum sets haha

I'm just saying that a really nice guitar can be $100,000, when a really nice drum set is only about $20,000. Why is that? I mean, even with the electronics or wood, how is there such a huge price difference? And obviously, there are more expensive drum sets out there, and less expensive guitars, but I'm talking about in these cases.

Sorry, I'm confused here too. What guitars are $100k ? The most expensive ones online are $15-$25k and that's for special edition ones. Even classic fenders, ricks, etc and things like that on ebay typically are in the $10-$20k range.

Probably just a matter of what the market will bear though. Guitar players are suckers ; )

well i think the price also varies thanks to which guitar are u talking about, i mean there is a guitar Eric Clapton used in a charity concert which was signed by him and other great musicians and i think the guitar was sold for more than a million dollars....maybe if i dont know Neil Peart throws a charity concert and drum get signed by him and Steve Smith, Jojo Mayer Dave Weckl Dennis Chambers and a lot of more (there's plenty of space so dont worry) maybe it would cost near that million...just saying =)

I'm fairly sure that you're mistaking collectible pieces for new pieces. No brand new guitar is going to sell for more than 10k unless there is a feature of collectibility about it, eg- it may be a special run of 20 worldwide, custom numbered and signed by a particular artist or made from exotic materials. I guarantee those old, vintage collector guitars that sell for 50k + like ultra rare Martin acoustics, vintage les pauls etc didn't cost anywhere near that much when they were new. As big an artist as Buddy Rich was, there's probably more than 20 guitarists that, name-wise, are bigger. Look at the catalogs of the biggest guitar companies vs the catalogs of the biggest drum companies to get a real gauge of price vs price. I don't know about guitars, but i'm fairly sure that no BRAND NEW guitar is going to come close to the DW "Rush: Vapor trails commemorative drum kit with 24k gold hardware and sabian 2112 cymbal kit", but i may be mistaken. And that's a kit that you can order straight from DW.

Aside from the fantasy world, a custom hod rodded paul reed smith neck-through with all custom hardware and exotic cap is probably a few grand, about the same price as say a tama spartan warlord or Sonor Steve Smith 30th anniversary kit.

Drums definitely cost more. An intermediate drum kit is somewhere in the $900-$1400 range, whereas a guitar is under $1000. I challenge you to find a guitar that costs more than a 10pc SQ2 with a wide variety of cymbals/hardware. This excludes signed/collectors items.

At the lower end, you can get a cheap guitar and amp combo for $150, or an acoustic for $100. A cheap drum set with crappy cymbals will be $250 (on special) and up.

I had always thought of drums and guitar as being roughly equal, as you can drop about $2000-3000 on a decent guitar and about $1500 on an amp--and about the same on a shell pack and then cymbals, a throne, a bodyguard to keep the groupies away, etc...

At the lower end, you can get a cheap guitar and amp combo for $150, or an acoustic for $100. A cheap drum set with crappy cymbals will be $250 (on special) and up.

I had always thought of drums and guitar as being roughly equal, as you can drop about $2000-3000 on a decent guitar and about $1500 on an amp--and about the same on a shell pack and then cymbals, a throne, a bodyguard to keep the groupies away, etc...

Keep the groupies away, are you kidding??...Or maybe you're talking about guy groupies?This I don't get.

Drums definitely cost more. An intermediate drum kit is somewhere in the $900-$1400 range, whereas a guitar is under $1000. I challenge you to find a guitar that costs more than a 10pc SQ2 with a wide variety of cymbals/hardware. This excludes signed/collectors items.

Some guitars are pretty expensive. Not sure how much a Sonor SQ2 10 piece and cymbals would be but here's some guitars. I have hard time though finding guitars over $20 K

I once read in a magazine that Gene Simmons ( Bassist for Kiss for those of you who don't know) bass only costs about 200-300 dollars to make over seas in china. But when you include labor and all that other fun stuff it jacks the price up to 3,000 which is just sick if you ask me.

I'm just saying that a really nice guitar can be $100,000, when a really nice drum set is only about $20,000. Why is that? I mean, even with the electronics or wood, how is there such a huge price difference? And obviously, there are more expensive drum sets out there, and less expensive guitars, but I'm talking about in these cases.

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here (as usual). A guitar that is not only a super nice vintage collectable such as a 58 les paul in perfect original condition and add to that it being played by a famous person such as Jimmy Page, then suddenly you've got a guitar worth $100,000. Very few guitars actually sell for that sort of money and it's not to do with their actual craftsmanship or what materials were used or it's use as a decive. It's about it's history. The reason you don't see drums go for that much is simply because drummers aren't as famous. If we stop talking about record breaking sales and concentrate on NORMAL instruments that people actually buy to play, you will find that drums tend to be quite a bit more expensive. I can pick up a brand new guitar for £50 that will be perfectly playable and good. Compare that to the drums which for a new starter set would be at least probably 3 times as much, and that's just with the bent pieces of brass they call "cymbals". If we talk about really high end stuff, before we start to go custom i would say that a professional rockstar would probably spend about 2-3 thousand on a nice guitar, compare that to the drums where you could probably spend that on just the shells alone, before buying the hardware (we're talking like 1-2 hundred for one cymbal stand here) and cymbals. If you play a big set, that's a hell of a lot more than even the best guitar rig that you could buy off a shelf.

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here (as usual). A guitar that is not only a super nice vintage collectable such as a 58 les paul in perfect original condition and add to that it being played by a famous person such as Jimmy Page, then suddenly you've got a guitar worth $100,000. Very few guitars actually sell for that sort of money and it's not to do with their actual craftsmanship or what materials were used or it's use as a decive. It's about it's history. The reason you don't see drums go for that much is simply because drummers aren't as famous. If we stop talking about record breaking sales and concentrate on NORMAL instruments that people actually buy to play, you will find that drums tend to be quite a bit more expensive. I can pick up a brand new guitar for £50 that will be perfectly playable and good. Compare that to the drums which for a new starter set would be at least probably 3 times as much, and that's just with the bent pieces of brass they call "cymbals". If we talk about really high end stuff, before we start to go custom i would say that a professional rockstar would probably spend about 2-3 thousand on a nice guitar, compare that to the drums where you could probably spend that on just the shells alone, before buying the hardware (we're talking like 1-2 hundred for one cymbal stand here) and cymbals. If you play a big set, that's a hell of a lot more than even the best guitar rig that you could buy off a shelf.

I'd like to see a fifty-pound guitar that's well made, easy to play, reliable and good sounding.

The local record I've come across is a £90 guitar that was rather good. That was a new one as well. My acoustic was a £200 job and that's a lovely guitar - but a fluke amongst many others that were mediocre. That's what I love about guitar buying; you go looking for the special one of the batch and often find it.

I'd like to see a fifty-pound guitar that's well made, easy to play, reliable and good sounding.

Well funny you should say that because i think you'd be surprised at what you can pick up for £50-60 these days in terms of guitars. They're not the best made or the best playable or the best intonated or anything but they're fine. Okay i mean so are beginner drums if you have the right heads and tunings but as for the cymbals, they just suck.